Isabel Story, Soviet Influence on Cuban Culture, 1961–1987: When the Soviets Came to Stay Lexington, 2020, pp. xiii + 331

Most studies of New Christians and crypto-Jewish families during the colonial period pay attention to the evidence of hidden religious practices and to the personal and professional networks of New Christians and alleged crypto-Jews. However, primary sources created by the Tribunal of the Inquisition do not always provide further details, which is why the scholarship always seems to be scratching the surface. By combining multiple sources, a large but clearly defined set of historical subjects, and following them for around a century, Gitlitz can use a very close lens. In addition to the discussion about commercial activities and hidden Jewish practices, he was able to identify different levels of adherence to such practices within extended families, including how marriage strategies affected the preservation of crypto-Jewish circles. In other words, the author explores how different degrees of endogamic (between New Christians and potential crypto-Jews) and exogamic marriages (with an Old Christian spouse) affected the preservation of crypto-Jewish circles. He was even able to include information about unhappy marriages and divorce as related to hidden religious practices. Other issues studied in the book include how a clandestine religious practice differed if sustained at the individual level or as a collective practice. Finally, he can also follow up what happened to them after the resolution of the trials of faith, explain what happened to confiscated properties, and to children placed in foster homes after imprisonment. On the other hand, an aspect that could have been expanded is the historiographical discussion. The book analyses individuals that have already been studied by other authors (such as Eva Uchmany and Nathan Wachtel, whom Gitlitz abundantly cites), although in a different scale of analysis. While Gitlitz expands and contextualises the information, I think he could have been more specific in the discussion about how his work relates to that of these authors and how understanding the extended families improves the previous work done on these individuals. Despite this minor critique, I think Gitlitz wrote a phenomenal book that will be very useful for scholars and students interested in the topic.